Heyneke Meyer calls up eight uncapped players for South Africa

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer has named 49 players in his preliminary Rugby Championship squad, eight of the whom are uncapped.

In addition to the 36 squad members, Meyer has included 13 players who are currently injured or will be in rehabilitation, but will form part of an extended squad for the matches against the World XV, the Rugby Championship and the Test against Argentina.

The uncapped players are Lions trio Faf de Klerk, Franco Mostert and Lionel Mapoe, Jesse Kriel and Rudy Paige of the Bulls, and Stormers trio Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff and Vincent Koch.

Springbok captain Jean de Villiers, who dislocated his knee cap and sustained significant ligament damage last autumn, has been named among the injured players.